LONDON (Reuters) -A British government receiver is suing KPMG for 1.3 billion pounds ($1.77 billion) over alleged negligence during its audit of collapsed construction giant Carillion, in one of the largest claims against one of the world’s top accountants.
The professional negligence claim was filed by Britain’s Official Receiver – part of the Insolvency Service – who is liquidating the former blue-chip government supplier, which collapsed in 2018 under a 7 billion pound debt mountain.
KPMG said it believed the lawsuit, details of which were made public on Thursday, was without merit and vowed to defend the case robustly.
“Responsibility for the failure of Carillion lies solely with the company’s board and management, who set the strategy and ran the business,” a KPMG representative said.
($1 = 0.7357 pounds)
(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Alex Richardson)
